For a few months now, I have been an active member of an Indonesian Foodie Group on Facebook called #FOODWAR. In that particular community, some active members always post and share the many delicious things they make, every day, anytime of the day. This in effect gave me constant stimulation and some ideas on what I myself should make. This is a brilliant ever-growing source of endless information because often when you are THAT busy, planning what you should eat for dinner or lunch is the last thing you want to do.

Thanks to #FOODWAR, several of recipes were born – seafood rice pilaf, Moloka goat cheese eggless wheat germ muffin, baba ghanoush and many more (recipes will follow in due course).

Thanks to #FOODWAR, too, I finally gave myself enough justification to get an ice cream maker. Day after day, in the middle of Japan’s unbearable Summer, I ogle at several posts made by one fellow FOODWARLORD, Mamiko. She joyfully posted pictures and descriptions of decadent Irish chocolate ice cream, Moloka’s goat cheese toasted macadamia ice cream, intense maccha with roasted hazelnut, dark chocolate coffee with hershey’s cookies n cream white chocolate bits, vanilla bean with salted honey walnut praline, salted caramel with sunflower seeds, and many more. I’ve got to tell you seeing all those deliciousness parading on your computer screen in a 40 Centigrade and humid Tokyo, something then just cracked in your head.

MUST.GET.ICE CREAM MAKER.NOW.

And so I did.

There was a recipe book that came with the ice cream maker, and I’ve tried a few (all to great results). But of course, in a true MyOrangePot spirit, I have got to try something or attempt to make something healthier. I also happened to have a big batch of overripe bananas and chocolate chips that I was going to make into some pancake or banana bread, but ice cream maker won the vote. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home had endless superb suggestions to make eggless ice cream and seemingly full-proof recipes. So here you are, one of my favorite ice creams to date as it churned

Note: Make sure to freeze the ice cream maker canister ahead of time – at least 24 hours

Directions:

In a small prep bowl, mix about 2 Tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch to make a smooth slurry.

In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt until smooth

Make an ice bath: fill a large bowl with a bucket of ice and cold water

In a saucepan, combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla seeds and bean/pod, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry (from step 1).

Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula (mine is 100 yen from IKEA), until slightly thickened – about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.

Add puree bananas into the Step 6 mixture

Pour mixture into a 3-4 Liter Ziploc bag and immerse in the ice bath (from Step 3). Let stand, add more ice as necessary until cold, about 30 minutes

When it’s ready to churn the ice cream in the pre-frozen ice-cream maker canister – cut the zip loc and remove the vanilla bean. You might need to fish around a little bit using a fork or some pokey stuff.

Pour the ice cream base into the pre-frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy (usually about 25 minutes)

After about 20 minutes, start working on the chocolate freckles. Use a microwave-proof bowl, put the mixture of chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave and work in 30 seconds increments, stir frequently to make sure the chocolate melts into a sauce, make sure it doesn’t burn.

When the ice cream is ready, drizzle the warm chocolate into the opening in the top of the machine and continue churning until it’s completely incorporated (about 2-3 minutes).

Pack the ice cream into a storage container. To avoid freezer burn, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

When serving, let the container sit on the countertop for about 5 minutes to make the ice cream softer and scoop-friendly.

One Comment on “Banana Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Freckles”

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